Explosion at Shiespa in Shibuya

[dimwit]

Boring down a depth of almost a mile in a sedimentary basin, I can almost guarentee you that you will hit a gas pocket somewhere along the way. This is a basic reason why most oil and gas reserves are found in such locations. Of all the people you should be listening to when building a structure which depends on groundwater you'd think the geologist should pretty high of the list.

[IkemenTommy]

Boring down a depth of almost a mile in a sedimentary basin, I can almost guarentee you that you will hit a gas pocket somewhere along the way. This is a basic reason why most oil and gas reserves are found in such locations. Of all the people you should be listening to when building a structure which depends on groundwater you'd think the geologist should pretty high of the list.

Only in Japan where you would find hazardous zones in dead smack middle of dense residential areas. This is really Shitspa's fault.

[Kuang_Grade]

While not nearly residentially dense as Shibuya, you'd be surprised at the number of oil refineries in Houston surrounded by large numbers of houses and apartments...Apparently, Texas isn't big on zoning laws either.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=houston&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=29.716979,-95.243397&spn=0.047707,0.064545&z=14&iwloc=addr

[Mulboyne]

Yomiuri: Spa was told to install gas detector

The operator of the Shiespa spa facility in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, where an explosion killed three people on June 19, was asked last year to install a natural gas detector before or just after the spa opened by the company responsible for maintaining equipment at the facility, it has been learned. An executive of Hitachi Building Systems Co. in Chiyoda Ward reportedly told the Metropolitan Police Department's Shibuya Police Station that the company made a written request to the spa facility to install a natural gas detector in January 2006, around the time the spa opened. At that time, the spa was operated by Unimatrealestate Co. in Minato Ward, a group firm of the current operating company, Unimat Beauty and Spa. The police are investigating top officials at Unimatrealestate to establish why they did not install the detector at the Shiespa annex, where the explosion occurred...According to the police, an official of Hitachi Building System met several times with officials from Unimatrealestate and Sangu before and just after the spa opened. In these meetings, representatives of Taisei Corp., a major general contractor from Shinjuku Ward that built the facility, explained natural gas was seeping from underground. They also said equipment was needed to discharge the gas, including a gas separator that could separate natural gas from the hot spring water. Asked about what measures they discussed in the meetings for tackling the natural gas, an official of Hitachi Building System reportedly told the police a written request to install a gas detector was made to the spa at a meeting. In March 2005, about 10 months before the Shiespa spa opened, a geological survey company submitted a report to Unimatrealestate warning of a possible gas explosion resulting from hot water being pumped indoors from the well. The police suspect Unimatrealestate did not take proper safety precautions even though it recognized the necessity of installing a gas detector at the spa...more...

[Mulboyne]

The management company behind Shiespa also runs the Zaboo onsen across the road from Roppongi Hills. They have decided to close it next month and plan to sell the land.

[Taro Toporific]

3 face charges over fatal spa explosion
IHT/Asahi: December 13, 2008
Tokyo police on Friday sent papers to prosecutors on three people in connection with a 2007 explosion at a spa in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward that killed three female employees and injured five other people.
The three who face charges of professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries are: Hiroyuki Sugahara, 46, a director of Unimat Fudosan KK, which operated the women-only Shiespa; Ikuo Asaga, 41, a Unimat Fudosan official; and Nobuhiko Tsunoda, 50, an official of Taisei Corp., which built the facility...more...